Roger Sargent, CEO and Executive Team Leader, Keller Williams Realty – Mt. Juliet
Mount Juliet and the surrounding area continue to experience healthy growth, which bodes well for the residential real estate market, according to Roger Sargent, CEO and executive team leader for Keller Williams Realty in Mt. Juliet. In an interview with Invest:, Sargent highlighted the importance of training and developing agents. He also emphasized the factors that make the area a solid place to live, work and play. “There is great retail, dining and parks. Essentially anything that you would want in a residential area, we have it,” Sargent said.
What changes over the past year have most impacted your operations and in what ways?
It has been a challenging market, primarily because predicting what will come next is tough. I find myself constantly saying that we are bouncing along the bottom because we will have moments where we will have a good month, such as this past May where we had our best month ever, but then came June, which was not such a great month. For no rhyme or reason, the market is up and down constantly. On the bright side, when you look at the annual numbers, they mirror what we did in 2024 as a whole. We are trending to do the same amount of business we did last year.
What larger trends have you identified for the Middle Tennessee real estate market?
In Mt. Juliet and Lebanon, with the exception of Williamson County, we have the highest average price point in the Middle Tennessee area. Wilson County has a great quality of life. It is a highly desirable area with ease of access to Nashville and the airport. Because it is a highly desirable area, that is causing demand and pricing to go up. Supply and demand determine the prices and our prices are going up, which creates some challenges, coupled with interest rates being high as well. It challenges the affordability component.
How would you describe the growth happening in Mt. Juliet and nearby areas?
It is such a growing area, both in Mt. Juliet and in the Lebanon area. The growth that is happening is phenomenal. Mt. Juliet has experienced a windfall of growth, but now it is stretching beyond there into Lebanon, making its way along I-40. There is great retail, dining and parks. Essentially anything that you would want in a residential area, we have it. Its proximity to Nashville is also a key factor since it is the hub of Middle Tennessee. This is a big blessing for us because where there is growth, there is opportunity for us. Our agents are really thriving in this market, especially our seasoned agents. Our agent count is down about 11% below where we ended last year. Yet, our sales are steady. The average agent income is actually up as well. Those agents who have learned and chosen to navigate the current market are doing well.
What are the biggest opportunities in the current market?
One thing that I always focus on is how to best serve our agents and how we can best position them to take advantage of opportunities. As the leader of a brokerage, I want to make sure that we are delivering valuable services and training to our agents or getting them access to services, systems, and training. As a brokerage, our value proposition is that we excel at supporting our team. We are the hub of one of the largest real estate teams in the country. When I talk to other team owners, the greatest challenge they have is the need for people.
What are the primary challenges in the current market?
A lot of it goes back to mindset. We are in a new normal. For agents who came to business circa 2020 when interest rates were below 3%, they need to realize that those times have changed and that they may be waiting on something that is not likely to return. Mindset is a key aspect when it comes to challenges. The skillset that an agent required to do business then is quite different from what is needed today. Then you had to be quick to get to client opportunities. Now it is a matter of how well you can serve that client’s needs. Listings are sitting on the market longer. Agents need to consider how proficient are the conversations with clients related to what it takes to sell a home. Secondly, they need to consider how proficiently they can market the available home versus just putting it on the MLS and waiting for an offer to come in.
How have clients’ needs evolved over time?
That depends on where you are. In Wilson County, we do not have much of what would be considered luxury. I know the pricing may look luxurious, but luxury homes are different. Prices can vary from $300,000 to $1,500,000. It is important to ask questions to uncover what is important to the client. When taking a listing, I believe it is important for agents to understand what is happening in the client’s mind and why they want to sell, or are they just testing the market to see what kind of offers are available. This is not necessarily the market to do that in. We are not necessarily in a buyer’s market. However, buyers do have a solid foundation to get their prices and requests when it comes to negotiations.
What is the outlook for the local real estate market and goals for your operations for the near term?
We want to grow. In the current real estate market, I want to make sure we grow in productivity and in headcount. I want to be the kind of brokerage that attracts agents, not just to be the No.1 brokerage in the area. I want it to have like-minded agents join our brokerage. We have always been attractive to entrepreneurially gifted agents. They have the gift of understanding how businesses operate, and we have the value proposition for them. It is a matter of meeting the agents where they are and delivering what it is that they want. Sometimes, determining what they want is a challenge in itself. Part of it is that some agents do not have the clarity of vision to realize where they want to go and how to get there. That comes back on me to ask great questions to help them uncover what they want. We are going to grow by helping people.
